


Suscipe Me

by DoggyTwoShoes



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, But It Gets Undone, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I just forgot to tag them, Like Immediately, Magic, So I didn’t have the warning, The rest of the crew probably appears, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoggyTwoShoes/pseuds/DoggyTwoShoes
Summary: Taking down the barrier didn’t just free the kids, it freed all the worst villains. And freeing villains with animosity towards Auradon was not smart, at all. A war started, and the heroes and their kids were losing. Badly. Desperate, the Four original VKs find a way back, a way to undo everything. Unfortunately, things don’t exactly go to plan and only one of them can go back. And even more unfortunately, messing with time tends to have consequences, and soon a worse evil can rise up.
Relationships: Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Evie/Mal (Disney)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I’m actually trying to commit to a multi chapter this time lol, sorry for the graveyard of dead stories. 
> 
> Anyway, there is character death here, but it’s undone instantly, so I did not put that warning. Tags will change if I decide to add stuff or make it more dark.

_**2022- Auradon** _

So...it turned out taking down the Isle barrier was a bad idea. Like a really bad idea. Like, on a scale of letting Evie design your clothes to calling Evil Queen ugly, definitely right next to the latter. Like super close. Because it turned out despite most of their kids miraculously turning out okay and decent people, most of their parents, Facilier and Hades exempted, were still as awful as ever. And it turned out they could all put their grudges aside to work together for the greater good, namely, conquering Auradon.

It wasn’t like the heroes didn’t try to fight. Because they did, and backed by the Isle Kids and the God of Death himself, it seemed like they had a chance. Until Maleficent changed the game, it turned out Mal bringing her back to the Isle undid the spell that turned her into a lizard. And when she made her typically dramatic entrance, the first thing she did was slaughter half the heroes of legend like it was effortless, forcing the kids on the run with the other half buying them time. Mal would never forget the look of pure glee on her mother’s face as she killed The Fairy Godmother, she had never been more terrified.

Soon it became a matter of time, they were losing and losing badly. They only got minor ambush wins, but those always were followed by major losses. Dr. Facilier, the villain himself, gave them time to find a new hideout after Chad tried to give them away to change sides, only to die in the attempt, by sacrificing his own life and managing to take Scar ‘To the Other Side’ with him. That may have been their biggest win, and they lost one of their biggest assets. 

After that, they never stayed in one place, and nobody other than Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben fully knew where they’d go next. Hades tried to take them to the Underworld to hide, but Zeus forbid it. Finally they were found again, and it was only through a sacrifice of Hades and Freddie Facilier that they managed to escape, the two villains/VKs turned heroes doing a lot of damage and even managing to take down Jafar and Captain Hook with them. But it wasn’t enough, they kept slowly dying, until it was down to the four, Uma, Harry and Gil, Ben, Lonnie, and Celia. 

They knew they were doomed, but they kept fighting, they had to, otherwise they’d just be accepting death. And finally, they found a way, technically, Evie found a way. It turned out Gaston was still the same Lecherous creep as ever, and he was charmed by the ‘Pretty Stranger’ in the streets. It was relatively easy for Mal to then knock him out with magic, and to cast an illusion on Jay to make him briefly Gaston, and he infiltrated the villain’s base, and made out with the ultimate treasure, the darkest spell book Maleficent kept for herself.

Most of the spells were things the ten of them would be happy never speaking of again, thank you very much, but Mal found something they were looking for: a way to send all of their spirits back in time and to take over their past bodies. A chance to never take down the barrier and never see anyone die. Unfortunately it took a lot of preparation, and a lot of things needed. 

Over the next few months, they prepared and they stole. Mal cast the spells with Evie’s and Uma’s help, getting all of them ready, and prepared their anchors. A necklace for her and Evie, one of Dude’s old chew toys for Carlos and Jay, Harry’s hook for him and Gil, Ben’s crown for him and Lonnie, and one of Celia’s tarot cards for her and Uma. 

Unfortunately, it came with a price, because they needed Fairy Godmother’s Wand and Maleficent’s Scepter along with Hades’ Ember, both of which were held by the villains. And while they had managed to pull off a daring steal while Maleficent was asleep, it came with a price. Namely Evil Queen using the much larger magic mirror to track the scepter. 

“Go,” Uma had said, patting Mal on the shoulder as she pulled out her sword with many of the worst villains in history, including her own mother, and their grunts stood outside their latest, and temporary, hideout. “We’ll hold them off.”

“We’ll?” Mal had questioned, before seeing Harry, Gil, Ben, Lonnie, and even Celia step up to join them.

“Yes, we’ll,” Ben had said, tears shining in his eyes, “We always knew we wouldn’t all go back, we always kinda knew it’d be you four, call it a sense of storytelling, whatever,” He had added with a sad chuckle while Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos all stood stunned.

“It started with you four, we knew it had to end with you four.” Lonnie had then chimed in, knowing they had just moments.

“Plus we all need Mal’s magic for this, and she wasn’t going back without Evie, or Carlos and Jay.” Celia had added, causing a weak, and final, chuckle from most of them.

“Don’t worry Mal, we can save you, you can save us,” Harry said, tipping his hat in a show of chivalry he rarely showed while Gil just nodded.

“Mal, just don’t let this be in vain. I hate the heroic stuff, make sure it works.” Uma said finally, the protective spell work around them being destroyed quickly, they only had a few seconds. 

“I will, I promise.” Mal then said, blinking back tears before they heard the telltale sign of the protective shielding she and Uma had cast breaking.

“GO!” Uma screamed then, as she and the other five rushed out to meet the villains, while the Core Four fled, going to the one place they hadn’t hid, the Isle itself.

They set up shop at their old headquarters, the weather conditions were going to be right for the spell, they were all magically ready, if not emotionally, and so were their anchors.

“We’re going to do this M,” Evie says, watching as Mal looked out the window towards Auradon like they had done when they were first on the Isle. “We’re going to save them.”

“I know, I know we will,” Mal says, wiping away tears as she wondered if all their friends were dead yet, or if her mother, if their mothers, were trying to torture information out of them. She hoped they were mercifully killed, but she knew better than to hope, she had for the past few years. Ever since she took down the barrier, since she had let the villains lose, since she had killed everyone...

“Hey, M, look at me,” Evie suddenly cuts in, she knew when Mal was brooding and blaming herself, she could tell by the look on her face. “This is not your fault, you hear me? You couldn’t have known this would happen, you can’t blame yourself.” She says, grabbing Mal under the chin to make her look at her before she steps back.

“It is my fault! You would’ve known what you were getting into if you were in that position, anyone would’ve!” Mal shouts, definitely feeling a few tears fall. “Instead it was me, and I released my mother, and she killed all of us. Everyone’s dead because of me! I have to fix it!” She screams, before feeling Evie hug her, tight as possible.

“It’s not your fault Mal, none of us blame you.” Evie mutters soothingly, “And we’re going to fix this, together.”

“Together,” Mal mutters back, savoring in one of the few comfort spots she had had over the past few years. Evie, it was always Evie.

“Um, guys,” Carlos suddenly pops in, feeling uncomfortable, like he was intruding on something intimate, something personal. “The lightning’s starting, it’s time.”

—

All the remaining VKs huddled together as Mal poured over the spell book, checking things. “It’s in Latin, pronunciation is key. One wrong word and we could end up going through dimensions. Or through space and not time. And we only have one try.”

“We know Mal,” Jay says, sounding deadly serious, this was their only chance, “We trust you, we know you can do it.” He was echoing a lot of Evie’s sentiments from earlier, but it didn’t hurt Mal to hear them.

“It says we need a high, open area, with a lot of ambient magic.” Mal says, frowning, anywhere like that was in Auradon and heavily guarded. 

“What about your mother’s castle?” Evie suggests, slightly concerned, “They wouldn’t think to guard that, it’s here, and if anywhere here has ambient magic in the air, it’s there.”

“It’s all we’ve got,” Mal says after a few seconds of thought, she didn’t want to go back, but it was all that could work. “We have to do this tonight. One shot guys.” 

—

The treck through the beginning rain and lightning wasn’t fun, but it was easy compared to everything else they had done. Finally reaching the castle, Mal felt a chill, this was it. And appropriate, where this all started was where it had to end, one way or another. Unfortunately, Evie was wrong in thinking it was unguarded, as they soon found out as soon as they stepped inside.

“Evie, dear, it’s so good to see you again.” Evie felt her blood chill as the Evil Queen stepped out of the shadows, holding an apple and looking at all of them with disgust. “You really thought we didn’t know what you were doing? When the scepter and wand were stolen after the book, we figured it out. We’re impressed you got so far, but it’s the end of the line. Hand over the scepter, and you can all come home.”

“Not a chance mother,” Evie speaks up, weakly and timidly glaring at her, “We aren’t going to bow to your rule, not now, not ever!” She sounded passionate despite her clear fear, motivating Mal to start moving slightly towards a staircase, if she could just reach it, she knew where her mother kept the weapons.

“Evie, let me rephrase that: hand over the scepter, or the wand, or even the Ember, or Mal dies,” Evil Queen suddenly had Uma’s necklace out, Mal had a feeling Ursula had made it so that she could use it too.

“Like hell that’ll happen,” Carlos spoke up, causing her attention to turn to him for a split second. And that was all the time Jay needed to tackle her like a game of tourney, breaking everyone’s daze. 

“GO! Do the spell!” Jay screams, raining down punches that didn’t seem to do much but briefly disorient and annoy the Evil Queen. “Carlos and I have got this, you have to do it!”

Both Evie and Mal seemed reluctant to leave, but Carlos was next.

“Go! Our death won’t mean much, you’ll be able to fix it! We trust both of you, just run!” With that, Evie took Mal’s hand and sprinted up the twisting staircases while the Evil Queen roared and shoved Jay off, Carlos then rushing at her to join the fray.

“Oh my god I killed them,” Mal mutters as they run, Evie shaking her head.

“No you didn’t, my mother did, or will. We’re gonna bring them back.” Evie says, the two girls quickly reaching the roof, Evie taking out the necklace and setting it down, lightning flashing around as Mal raised the scepter with one hand and held the Ember with the other, Evie holding the wand.

“Retrorsum converti in clock...” Mal starts before a burst of fire hits the necklace, incinerating it instantly. “No...” Mal mutters as suddenly a cloud of green smoke forms on the tower, forming the shape of her mother.

“Hey kids! I’m BAAAAAAACK!” Maleficent screams, like the time she showed up at Cotillion, or when she showed up to turn the tide of the war. “I must say Mal, I’m almost impressed. You came oh so close, but you were weak. If you had just been more willing to sacrifice your minions, you may have even pulled it off.”

“They were my friends, not my minions.” Mal argues, while Maleficent cackles, shaking her head.

“And there’s your weakness! And why you fail! That and Blueberry Princess over there,” She adds dismissively towards Evie, before turning back to Mal. “But your little trinket is destroyed, and you have no anchor! Which means the spell won’t work! So, you can surrender and join me, I’ll even let you keep the girlfriend, or, you can die for nothing!” 

Mal didn’t care, she would not join her mother. She would take her out with her if she could, raising the scepter to fight, before suddenly the world was alight with Golden Light, Evie had used the wand and cast a powerful shield, Mal could tell and so could Maleficent, who looked stunned as she cast a fireball at it, barely even denting the magic.

“E...what are you doing?” Mal asks, her best friend’s face contorting in agony from the exertion of this spell. She wasn’t a practiced witch, she had to be using all her magic and then some to do this. 

“Buying...you...time!” Evie grunts out, Maleficent now unleashing an assault on the golden shield, each blow causing Evie to bite back a scream, “Cast...the...spell!”

“I don’t have an anchor, nothing’s prepared,” Mal says in confusion, she couldn’t send them back without that. 

“Yes...you...do...” Each word was getting harder for Evie, and Mal could tell, she wanted her to stop before it killed her. “Use...me!” Mal gasped as she got what Evie was saying, and shook her head instantly.

“I can’t do it alone E! I need you!” Mal protests, she had caused this mess, she couldn’t fix it alone, she’d just mess it up more. She needed Evie with her.

“Yes...you...can...” Evie was clearly struggling, crouching down slightly, but the shield was holding strong. “You...have...too!”

Mal unfortunately knew she was right, they would both die if she didn’t do this, it was their only choice.

“I can do this...I can do this...” Mal mutters to herself, raising the scepter again and shaking a little.

“Yes...you...can!” Evie shouts encouragingly, unable not to scream as a fireball shook the shield, causing her to fall to her knees, clearly not having much left. “I...love...you...M...”

“I love you too E,” Mal mutters, wiping the tears before raising the scepter and Ember, she could see her mother’s eyes widen outside the shield, looking almost scared as her assault increased. 

“ _Retrorsum converti in clock,_ ” Mal begins, shaking as she did it, thinking about when they first came to Auradon, their plans to take over with their parents. Oh how that had changed.

“ _Ut salvum facere quod perierat,_ ” Mal continues, thinking about the love spell she had put on Ben. He was a nice guy, but he wasn’t the one for her. That was the woman in blue, the one who was possibly draining her life force to fight off Maleficent just so Mal could have a chance to save them. 

“ _Manus in tempus, et avertet a sors,_ ” Mal continues speaking her spell, thinking about how she had defeated her mother once, staring her down to save her friends, to save Evie, not caring if she died as long as they lived, as long as she did.

“ _Etiam alter locus, vel imperare vivere,_ ” Mal adds while tearing up, thinking about how when it got to be too much with Ben, it was Evie who first came after her, who first worried about her. It was Evie who she said goodbye to, because she couldn’t bear to completely leave her behind.

“ _Nisi amici mei,_ ” Mal remembers how even while worrying about how Ben was kidnapped, she and Evie had come together in song, out of fear of never seeing each other again. It was then when Mal began to realize how much she loved her bluenette princess, how much it went beyond friendship, into something much deeper.

“ _Ancora, ancora, ancora Evie  
Ancora, ancora, ancora._” Mal chants, her tears flying and falling from her eyes, especially as she saw Evie fall to a fetal position, she could tell she was going to die for her. It also made sense. Evie was her anchor, the thing that kept her human and kept her sane, kept her going. It made sense that she’d be the thing that would keep her alive through this journey through time, the thing that would keep her anchored to life.

“ _Quod Pro libero,_ ” Mal continues, now sobbing as she forced herself to keep a clear voice, thinking about how she had taken down the barrier to try and make it up to Evie. After how she had cowardly tried to keep it up to keep her safe, she had taken it down to save the children for Evie. Instead, it doomed them all. Even while preoccupied with the spell, she could sense Evie’s life force draining to keep the shield a final few seconds.

“ _Neptunia solvere vincla,_ ” Mal was close to done, as she thought about how everyone had died for her to have this chance. To fix her mistake. She didn’t know why she deserved such trust, why everyone would sacrifice themself for her, just in the belief that she could save them. She didn’t know why Uma and her crew, why Ben and Lonnie, why Celia, little Celia, had fought off almost the entire Isle just to buy them a few seconds. She didn’t know why Carlos and Jay probably lay stories below her, probably poisoned, just to give her and Evie a chance to do this. She didn’t know why Evie, her E, was giving her life to cast a shield more powerful and pure than any she had ever seen, just to give her a chance to cast this spell and go back to save them. She didn’t know why, but she wouldn’t waste this chance. She wouldn’t waste their sacrifices, she would save them all and owe them her entire life.

“ _ **Suscipe Me!**_ ” Mal screams, right as the shield breaks and her mother breaks through, suddenly lightning striking around her and Evie, magic flowing around her.

“No! NO! What have you done?” Maleficent shrieks, and even if this failed, Mal had won a small battle in making her look that scared.

“I won mother,” Mal grits out, the magic speeding up around her, looking at Evie’s lifeless form and biting back tears once more. “I told you before...the power of evil is good as none when stood before two hearts as one.” She says, weakly laughing as she feels _something_ happening to her, her vision starting to fade.

“You brat! You will rue this!” Maleficent screams as she lunges at Mal, which is right when her vision went dark, either the last thing she heard before passing out and/or the first thing she heard upon waking up was a scream.


	2. Chapter 2

Mal never thought that time travel could bring about dreams. But dream she did, after the blackout effect, she dreamt. She dreamt of how it would’ve turned out if she hadn’t brought down the barrier, slowly but surely, more and more kids would come over, would be free. Instead they were all dead. 

Mal dreamt of her and her friends, Carlos running a dog shelter and making sure every new Isle kid who wanted one could get a puppy to learn a bit about love. She dreamt of Jay, playing tourney not for fame or for women but because he loved it, because he wanted to do it, happy and free for once. She dreamt of Uma, finally getting to sail the seas not in search of piracy or freedom, but because she could and because she wanted to, and for once, nobody and nothing was stopping her crew. 

Most of all, Mal dreamt of Evie. She dreamt of her best friend, of her so much more. She dreamed of her running her own fashion line, making clothes and dressing up royals to the nines because she wanted to, everyone buying her clothes because they were the best, no mention of her being an Isle Kid. She dreamt of them together, watching the sunset together, laying together and being safe in their bed. She dreamt of good mornings and good evenings without end, she dreamt of every moment spent together, each one sweeter than the last. She dreamt of promises, sunrises and sunsets. Instead, they were dead, _she_ was dead. All because of Mal.

And if Mal opened her eyes and saw that it hadn’t worked, if she looked up and saw her mother’s face, she was going to kill herself. She wouldn’t live without them, not when they put their lives in her hands. She would be together with them all, one way or another. Still though, she closed her eyes, kept them closed to savor the peaceful feeling of the dreams, the first she had felt in years.

“Mal, Mal?” Mal hears a concerned voice call out, sounding sweet and concerned and so unlike her mother’s, she couldn’t help but open her eyes a bit, flinching from the bright lights but still making out the shape that was so unmistakably Evie. “Oh Mal, thank evil,” Evie sounds so genuinely worried it makes Mal unable to not crack a small smile despite the muscles in her face protesting very loudly to even that small action. “I’ll go get the boys,” Evie adds, turning to walk over to the door. 

“E...wait,” Mal practically croaks, shocking herself, because what was in that spell? Anyway, it didn’t matter, because Evie turns around, looking confused and concerned, walking over and hesitantly resting a hand on top of Mal’s. Instantly, the contact makes Mal feel better, and in more than just the normal way being close with Evie made her feel better. 

“Mal, what’s wrong?” Evie asks, sounding so concerned as she leans down and looks at her face closely, Mal still unable to fully open her eyes. “Mal?”

“Sore,” Mal grunts in response, causing Evie to go to retract her hand before Mal winces and grabs at it weakly, she didn’t know where she was, or even when she was, or what the consequences of her spell were, but she knew Evie was there and alive, and that was what mattered. Her spell had worked, everyone was alive, that’s what mattered.

“What happened to you Mal?” Evie ponders, not expecting an answer from said purple-haired girl, “Our parents told us to grab the wand, we got shoved in a limo, thought we were going to die in a trap, before crossing the border on a magic bridge. Then you passed out into my lap while we were all screaming.” Mal blushes as she hears what had happened, so she was supposed to be Isle girl, head VK, junior league Evilest of them All, and not a blushing mess. Not a girl who passed out at her first taste of freedom, and certainly not one who passed out into her closest friend’s lap. 

“Really?” Mal groans, feeling her body protest the act of speaking less the longer she spent in contact with Evie, feeling her head stop pounding and finding it easier to frown or smile. “Maybe it was due to me getting my magic? I had it locked away so long, maybe it reacted wrong.” Mal speculates, knowing exactly what it was. She hates lying to Evie, but she didn’t think she could tell this Evie her time travel plot, not with where they were at this point. Scared, new, and still loyal to their parents. 

“That could be it, but that doesn’t explain...” Evie was speaking before suddenly cutting herself off with a slight, and very, **very** pretty blush on her face. 

“Doesn’t explain what?” Mal could open her eyes fully now, and even sit up a little, albeit with tremendous pain, but it was clear something was healing her, and it was very likely that somehow, that _something_ had blue hair. “Come on E, I need to know what happened to me.” Mal pleads, the nickname and pout coming naturally to her despite the fact that she was unsure of if she had even used them yet in this time. Time Travel was confusing. Fortunately, Evie seemed to be as weak to them as she ever was, sighing and shaking her head a couple times. 

“Don’t hate me for this Ma... _M_ , but when we got here, the boys tried to lift your head out of my lap, you know, even if unconscious, there’s not much of an aura that can be kept if you’re asleep in someone’s lap as your first impression, but when they tried to move you off of me, your eyes flew open and you started shrieking like a banshee.” Evie chuckles a bit as she says this, Mal still processing what she had heard, it seemed contact with Evie did have some effect on her now. 

“Well, I hope they put me back then,” Mal says dryly, to which Evie laughs again, the sound still sounding like bells to Mal, warming her insides.

“They did, granted their fear of what would happen if your first impression to everyone was sleeping in my lap did hold them back a second or two,” Evie says, Mal laughing herself because that sounded like Jay and Carlos. Jay and Carlos, who sacrificed themselves for her to be here, just like Evie did, and everyone else...

’ _Focus Mal, you’re here, she’s here, both alive, those two are just nearby, alive, you can fix this,_ ‘ Mal mentally reminds herself, before smiling weakly at Evie and giving her hand a slight squeeze. “Can you get Jay and Carlos now?” She asks, before cringing mentally, this Mal didn’t ask, she demanded! Evie, for her part, masked any surprise well and left to grab them, the absence of contact immediately causing Mal to lay back down, what was happening to her?

“Mal!” Jay and Carlos practically shouted in unison, rushing in followed by Evie who shook her head in exasperation at their boyish glee and relief, “We were so worried about you, I mean the plan,” Carlos says before correcting himself, Mal shaking her head and sighing, she couldn’t wait until they all picked good already, and she’d been there five minutes. Then they could openly speak, Mal could maybe even share her secret, or at the very least hold Evie’s hand and keep whatever pain and fatigue this was at bay openly. 

“I always knew you’d be the first to almost die here, granted, I didn’t think it would be so soon,” Jay says with a roguish smirk, causing Mal to weakly groan and roll her eyes, feeling that action now start to take a toll. She reached out towards Evie and weakly tugged at her hand again, drawing a surprised look from her friend before the bluenette grabbed onto Mal’s hand, Mal having to keep from crying out at the relief that flowed through her. What was that?

“Seriously Mal, what happened out there? None of us have ever seen anything like it,” Carlos questions, to Mal’s worry, she hated lying to her friends, but she couldn’t tell them all now. For one, how would they believe her? For another, then they’d want to know why she had come back and Mal couldn’t tell them that, she just couldn’t. 

“She thinks it may be her magic,” Evie thankfully cuts in, Mal letting out a breath of relief, she didn’t have to lie again. “That it created such a reaction that it knocked her out.” 

“Yeah, but what about...” Jay started to speak but was silenced by a nudge from Carlos and glare from Evie. “Right, magic. Anyway, can you still lead us? We kinda have important plans,” Jay says, looking a bit jittery as he looks up towards a corner, obviously expecting someone to be listening. 

“Don’t worry, once I’m out of...where ever here is, your fearless leader won’t have missed a step,” Mal says with a bit of an ego, cracking a small smirk despite the pain and anguish, pretending like everything was normal. “Anyway, where am I?” That question caused everyone to step back and look a bit sheepish and worried, except for Evie, who dutifully held onto Mal’s hand.

“Auradon’s Hospital,” Evie says after a few seconds, “After we got here, they took you to the nurse at whatever the school was, he and Fairy Godmother, yes, she was there, ran a few tests, and then sent you here.” Evie adds, before quickly rushing, “And I know what you’re gonna say, that this type of attention is the last thing we need, or that we could’ve snatched the wand while she was running her tests, but I was w...” Evie starts to ramble before Mal raises her voice slightly to cut her off.

“Evie, relax, you did the right thing,” Mal says, drawing another surprised look, “I mean the wrong thing, I mean the evil thing, you know what, I’m not mad, there,” Mal says, struggling to remember what she described things as back when she was fresh off the Isle, “If we had gone back with me unconscious, I would’ve died for being weak,” Mal says, smiling reassuringly, causing Evie to look even more surprised while Carlos and Jay looked pretty shocked themselves. Mal knew she was being too soft, but she couldn’t care, not when everyone was alive.

However, before any of the VKs could say anything else, Fairy Godmother herself came bustling in, smiling to herself as she saw Mal awake. “Thank goodness you’re awake,” She says in a genuine tone, one that would have annoyed this Mal, but not the one that had seen her die defending her from her mother. “Children, if you could please leave us alone, there is something important to discuss,” She requests, the other three instinctively distrusting her and moving closer to Mal. 

“Guys, it’s okay,” Mal says with a slight giggle, internally cursing that while her friends look absolutely shocked, Mal didn’t giggle and didn’t trust anyone. “I’ll scream if anything happens.” They all, clearly reluctantly, leave, leaving Mal alone with Fairy Godmother. 

“What did you do?”

—

Evie, despite what her mother drilled into her head, was a very smart girl. And Evie, being a very smart girl, knew something was wrong. Just two days ago, they had been preparing to steal the Fairy Godmother’s Wand, Rotten to the Core and all that, but then a huge, Mal-shaped wrench had been thrown into that when she passed out immediately upon coming to Auradon. Evie, and Jay and Carlos, had expected Mal to be pissed off that she had looked so weak and that they had missed a golden opportunity to grab the wand. What she, nor any of them, did not expect was Mal to be so forgiving. She didn’t expect Mal to drop a new nickname for her out of nowhere, she didn’t expect Mal to instantly trust the first adult she didn’t even know when she walked into the room, she didn’t expect Mal to giggle, she didn’t expect Mal to be so desperate to hold her hand. Seriously, what was that? Mal hated weakness, she hated needing comfort, yet today, she had seemed desperate to keep her close and touching her.

“I’m telling you guys, something’s wrong with Mal. She doesn’t giggle, she doesn’t pout, she doesn’t show weakness and she doesn’t Hold My Hand!!!” Evie screams, before quieting herself down, it was best nobody heard them talking about what had befallen their friend. 

“Maybe she’s under mind control, maybe that’s what that magic bridge did?” Carlos suggests while eating a pack of fresh, actually fresh, cookies from what she had heard called a _Bending Machine_ or something like that, Evie didn’t have time to focus on that.

“Yes! That actually makes sense! It’s all part of their plot to get us under control!” Evie says, sounding relieved despite the fact that her closest friend was under mind control, at least she knew what was wrong. She hated not knowing something. “But how do we break it?”

“Well, if this was some stupid fairy tail, you could go in there and kiss her,” Jay suggests, getting a pair of blank, and one of them slightly furious, stares turned on him, “What, Evie, did you not see the way she stared at you when she saw you?” Evie’s glare turned more sour, causing Jay to back up a step with his hands raised. 

“Part of the mind control, nimrod,” Evie grumbles, before looking around both cautiously and suspiciously, digging around in her pocket and pulling out her magic mirror. “Mirror mirror in my hand, how do we fix mind control?” Evie asks in a clear and polite voice while getting nothing as a response. 

“Maybe make it rhyme,” Carlos suggests kindly, causing Evie to sigh and think a second or two.

“Mirror mirror in my hand, tell me how to fix mind control, I demand,” Evie says with a cringe at how forced the rhyme was. It works though, showing a few words. 

“Hit them really hard in the head,” Jay says before chuckling, “Problem solved, lemme at ‘er!” He adds, walking towards the room again before Evie reaches out and grabs his arm. 

“We are not knocking out the woman who just passed out Jay,” She says in a steely calm voice. Jay goes to speak up, but proves to at least be somewhat smart and shuts up at the look on Evie’s face.

“We’ll find some other way.” Evie says, before quickly sliding the mirror into her pocket again as she hears the door open to Mal’s room, Fairy Godmother peaking her head out. 

“Evie, can you please come in here?” She asks, sounding like she was forcing a chipper tone to her voice. Evie, confused, follows until she sees Mal writhing around on the bed. 

“What are you doing to her?!!”

—

“What did you do?” Fairy Godmother asks in a stern tone, and, for a second, Mal forgets all about the time travel plot. Instead, she thinks about what she could’ve done in the time being passed out that would be enough to get them all sent back to the Isle instantly.

“What do you mean?” Mal questions, gritting her teeth through pain slightly, sounding very much like a caught and scolded child, which was ridiculous, she hadn’t been a child in ever, and when she was caught doing something wrong, she was, while still scolded, not punished as harshly for it.

“I mean, why is there so much temporal magic running through you right now?” Fairy Godmother hisses, causing Mal’s mind and body to freeze, _that’s_ what she meant. “I know of one spell that could send you back like that, what were you thinking? It could’ve killed you!”

Mal wouldn’t admit that that had been the plan, either success or death, even if she could through the rapidly returning pain, because she knew that would get her locked up in one of the cushy mental hospitals. She wouldn’t say that she had come back to save everyone, because she couldn’t tell someone they died because of her actions. She would take being scolded like the child she wasn’t anymore, the one she probably never was, because it was the easiest option.

“You silly, silly child, what were you coming back for?” Fairy Godmother asks in a humored tone of voice. Mal, even if she was confident she could speak without crying, wouldn’t have, she couldn’t tell anyone that they had died, because of her stupid decision. Fairy Godmother however, saw and heard her silence and gasped. “Wait, where’s your anchor? You have to be in agony without it!” Mal again couldn’t speak, instead crying out in pain as she raised her arm to point towards Evie through the window of her room, who seemed to be doing something with her mirror. 

“You didn’t!” Fairy Godmother gasps, because Mal knew how volatile it was to use a human anchor. Which is why Mal guesses she needed to touch Evie instead of being near her. “You reckless, reckless child,” She adds, quickly hurrying to the door to grab Evie. Leaving Mal, through her pain ridden haze, to think about how true that was. She had fled back to the Isle, on a whim, had taken down the barrier, on a whim, had decided to time travel because of it, and she couldn’t even do that right.

“What are you doing to her?!!” Evie shrieks, Mal hadn’t realized that the pain had her writhing around in the agony, it felt like her body was being disintegrated. 

“Evie!” Mal gasps, sounding and feeling beyond desperate, this couldn’t be what killed her, not after all her friends’ sacrifices. Evie rushed over and Mal managed to grasp her hand, actually whimpering in the sudden decrease in pain, unable to hide it. 

“What did you do to her?” Evie demands again of Fairy Godmother, standing protectively over Mal as she goes to remove her hand. Mal however kept a desperate grasp, she didn’t think she’d survive another for a while, it felt like her own magic was burning her. “Mal, Mal, what’s wrong?” Evie then asks, the anger leaving her voice as she turns down to look down at Mal with pure sympathy and pity. A look old Mal would have hated, but one she had gotten so much of in the future, she couldn’t help but put up with it.

“E...” Mal mutters, in a daze, it almost feeling like the pain was slowly leaving her, right where Evie was touching, she guessed that using a human witch as her anchor had different effects than a magically infused necklace. “It’s...my magic, right? Something happened?” She asks Fairy Godmother, willing her mentally to play along. She couldn’t tell her friends yet, she would, but not before they had chosen good. Not before they had all realized how shitty their parents were. The former good fairy, for her part, felt pity for her. It seemed like Mal was scared and in a situation she wasn’t prepared for, the least she could do was make up something so she could have the chance to tell her friends herself. 

“Yes, her magic was cooped up so long, it lashed out when she finally got it and connected itself to the nearest thing with magic, you,” Fairy Godmother lies, much more smoothly than she would have thought herself able to. She rarely had lied, except maybe when saying the isle was a good idea, but she had realized that not everything was as black and white as the heroes of legend had painted it.

“What does that mean?” Evie asks back, keeping a hold of Mal’s hand and sounding hostile once again. She has a feeling that this wasn’t some natural thing, that it was Fairy Godmother doing something to sabotage them, but she wouldn’t do anything without proof, not when Mal’s life seemed to be in the balance. 

“It seems that for better or worse, there is now a connection between you,” Fairy Godmother explains, truthfully this time, because there definitely was, “You may have noticed she may be trying to be in contact with you, that’s because her magic is overloaded right now and it needs to share itself. Without having you as that outlet, her magic could build up and consume her.” 

Well, that was news to Mal. She knew that without her anchor bad things would happen, but there was no warning about her magic trying to kill her. She did guess it made sense though, because she was adding a whole new magic source that her body was unaccustomed to, it would probably overload her. Evie meanwhile, wasn’t thinking as relatively calmly as Mal, eyes wide and terrified, not even trying to mask her emotions like she had been taught. 

“What?!!! Can’t you fix it or something, find a way to stop whatever’s causing this?” Evie did not trust Fairy Godmother or trust adults in general, but she was suddenly very desperate at the mention of Mal’s life in danger. 

“I will look into it, and I will try to find a permanent solution to this, but for right now, her life is literally in your hands,” Fairy Godmother says sadly, turning to leave, she figured both women would want time alone, or with their friends, to discuss this. 

“Wait, so I have to constantly be in contact with her?” Evie asks, frowning. Her mother would not be happy that instead of trying to charm princes, she would be always with her purple haired closest friend. Granted, Evie couldn’t help but, deep down, feel a little happy despite the circumstances, but she’d never admit that, even to herself. 

“Not constantly, after around 24 hours of contact, you should be able to spend a couple hours apart,” Fairy Godmother says with a frown, she didn’t know any documented cases of a human anchor for this kind of time travel, and very few cases in general. “I would still recommend staying close together at all times, I really do not know how this will affect either of you. If something changes, come get me immediately, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I do not wish either of you harm,” She adds, turning to face them both, she wanted to see if either had any question. For her part, Evie manages a decent poker face considering the situation, Mal didn’t bother masking her worry however. “I’ll leave you two.”

As soon as Fairy Godmother left, Evie turned to Mal and looked beyond concerned, causing Mal to want to reach up and hug her. Too bad the stupid Isle was still fresh and Mal didn’t even know if them hugging was a thing yet, and that her body was getting over the pain way too slowly. 

“Mal, I need you to think, did she do anything to you? I don’t trust one second of this,” Evie says, scowling slightly, despite how ‘unladylike’ it was. She thought it was all too convenient, like a way for them to bunch them up to keep an eye on Mal and herself easily. A way to stop them from their plans.

“I don’t think she did anything to me E,” Mal says with a frown, she was realizing how hard this would be, but she would help her friends, help Evie, adjust to being away from their parents. She had been through it once, now she would make it easier, even if she had to be in contact with Evie at all times. Which, granted, wasn’t a wholly bad thing, Mal wouldn’t pick anyone else to do that with if she could, but she couldn’t help but feel bad. She had had Evie sacrifice herself to save her, and now she was basically taking away Evie’s future life from her. She wouldn’t have the chance to do everything she wanted to do, because she was anchored to Mal, keeping her alive. 

“Then what happened Mal? I haven’t heard of anything like this before,” Evie responds, causing Mal to bitterly chuckle, confusing the bluenette a bit.

“We were on the Isle E, I doubt anyone would’ve told us if they did know,” Mal responds, thinking that, if this were the actual condition, her mother probably wouldn’t have even told her just for a sick joke. “Besides, it explains why I reacted so violently to being away from you, and why the pain lessens when I’m touching you,” Mal admits, smiling slightly up at Evie who briefly grins before frowning, instinctively grabbing Mal’s hand a bit tighter. 

“Well, I guess you’re stuck with me until we figure this out,” Evie says, taking a seat but not letting go of Mal, she didn’t trust Fairy Godmother, but she wouldn’t risk Mal’s life to prove a point. 

“Who knew, I’m like an hour into Auradon and I’ve already failed my mother. I depend on another person, she’d be disgusted,” Mal says while rolling her eyes before laughing slightly, still feeling a slight pain but feeling it grow less and less the more Evie was with her. Speaking of, Evie laughed as well, causing Mal to feel warm again. So she was all but stuck to her best and closest friend, but Mal couldn’t help but think this could have gone a lot worse. It couldn’t have worked at all, this could’ve been a dream, she could be being tortured by her mother, all manner of things. Maybe it was just that she was in a good Auradon, but she was beginning to feel optimistic, maybe she could fix her mistakes, maybe she could save everyone. Maybe everything would have a happy ending after all.


End file.
